//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: The Fashion Show // Story: The Sun Always Rises // by jl7895 //------------------------------// Okay, I am way past the point of no return. I’ve been preparing for weeks and I think I’m finally ready for this. Coco, Derpy, and Sky have been giving me prep talks and motivational speeches. It doesn’t really help that I’m going first and the other models look so much more confident and way prettier than me, although the dress Coco made helps. I should really ask her to make me a few tops or something. “Five minutes, girls,” the fashion club instructor said. “Remember the routine.” I took one more deep breath to try and calm myself. Truth be told, I still don’t think that I can do this. “Nervous?” the girl next to me asked. She was Fleur Dis Lee, probably one of the most popular girls in school since my fall from grace. Fleur is absolutely gorgeous, stunning, breath taking, and anything else that means beautiful. She already has done some amateur modeling jobs and I wouldn’t be surprised if she became a full time model after high school. “A little,” I said grabbing my arm. “Don’t worry,” she said with a smile. “It’s normal to be nervous your first time. Hundreds of people are watching you, taking thousands of pictures. Not only that, but you only a few minutes to change into your next outfit, fix your hair and make-up, and then walk back out and do it all over again. It’s even worse when you’re first to walk. You the girl that sets the bar for the rest of the night.” “You’re not making this any easier,” I said while fighting the urge to curl into a ball. “It might seem scary, but you get this rush when you reach the end of the catwalk and strike a pose. You feel like the queen of the world or a priceless piece of art. Everyone is admiring you. Every boy wants you and every girl wants to be you. The best part is you feel that rush every time you get out there.” “If you like it that much, why don’t you go first?” I asked seriously hoping she would say yes and push me out of the way. “Because I’m not going to let you run from this Sunset,” she said putting her hands on my shoulders. “I won’t sugar-coat it, there are some boys from school out there that are going to treat you like a piece of meat. They are going to say somethings that you never wanted to hear. But if you can through this, you can get through anything.” “Why are you being nice to me? I’m pretty sure I started a rumor or two about you. If anything, you should be pouring a bucket of pig’s blood on me when I reach the end of catwalk.” “First, why would I even want to get near pig’s blood? Second, you’re one of us now: a model.” “This is just a one-time thing,” I said quickly. “I’m not model material.” “Don’t sell yourself short. With a little more training, you could be in New York modeling for fashion week. What I mean is you know how hard it is to be a model. Tell me something, did you struggle to keep the same weight?” “Maybe…” I said, struggling to keep my mind off of my weight. “And you were making sure that none of your measurements changed even the slightest bit?” “Yeah.” “Such as the life of the model. You need to make sure that everything about your size stays the same or else your designer’s work goes down the drain. Not only that, but everything you eat is put under a microscope. The only thing I can have for lunch is salads and water. I would kill to try Granny Smith’s famous lasagna. That’s not even the worst part. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve walked down the hall only to have some boy undress me with his eyes. My point is, you know what the rest of us go through every day.” “Thanks Fleur,” I said with a smile. I can see why she’s so popular. “Get ready girls,” the advisor said. Okay, deep breaths. I can do this. I feel great and look even better. I am the Mona Lisa, Statue of David, and Starry Night all rolled into one. When I step out there, every boy will want me and every girl will want to be me. That’s a disgusting thought. Plenty of boys already give me looks, but the thought of every boy wanting me for my body. I’ll be creeped out about that later, right now I need to focus on right now. I am one of the most beautiful girls at this school and everyone will know it by tomorrow. I took one final deep breath before walking out onto the catwalk. The walk and poses weren’t that hard. Coco and Rarity helped me practice this for days until I got it perfect. If someone wasn’t going to ruin this show, it wasn’t going to be me. The hardest part was the school boys in the audience. Most of them were doing some uncreative cat-calls while I walked, which annoyed me and threw me off a bit. I recovered when I reached the end and posed, but I think people noticed. As I walked back, I noticed Fleur walking with a smile, even with the jerks in the front row. When I got backstage, I was rushed back to the changing room. Coco already had my next dress ready for me to put on. I was instructed to take my off as quickly as I could so I won’t disrupt the flow of the show. Coco and Rarity also helped me practice this to the point where I can get in and out of my PE clothes in a matter of seconds. “How was your first time on the catwalk?” Fleur asked me as she walked to her designer. “Not great,” I said while changing into my next dress. “Those punks in the front row threw me off.” “Don’t worry about them. Someone will kick them out with in the half-hour. For now, just use the trick one of my friends taught me: think about someone special to you. For me, it’s my childhood friend, Fancy Pants.” “I think I can do that,” I said as I finished putting on my dress. “You’re ready,” Coco said. She gave me a hug and thanked me again for doing this. The boys again said things not worth repeating. Who’s someone I can think of instead of these losers? Rainbow? We may be friends, but we don’t have that much in common. Derpy? She’s a great girl and an even better friend, but it’s not shutting them up. Sky? Just then, the room felt empty. There wasn’t any sounds of cameras going off or someone telling me in vivid detail what they’re going to do to me behind closed doors. I looked out into the audience and there he was. His smile lit up the room and made everything perfect. Sky was the one person I cared about. Before I knew it, everyone was back and I was at the end of the catwalk. I did my poses and acted up a bit for the cameras. I started to feel everything Fleur was talking about. I feel beautiful and confident. I feel like the world is watching me and they are loving what they’re seeing. Everything started to go by a bit faster and it became really simple. Change into a new dress, walk back out, pretend Sky is the only one in the audience, pose at the end of the catwalk, walk back, and do the whole thing over again. Everything seemed really simple, until the second to last dress. I did the usual trick of pretending Sky is the only one here, but this time was different. He was talking to a girl instead of paying attention to the show. I know the girl from my darker days. Her name was Sonata and she was just one of the Dazzling triplets. These girls used their “amazing” singing voices and a few other things to manipulate others and make them do whatever they want. They’re so good at manipulation that I may have convinced them to help me win the first Fall Formal and then stabbed them in the back. It really was a dark time for me. There was a bit of a slip up when I reached the end of the catwalk, but my poses seemed good enough so no one would notice. I turned around and started heading back to the changing room, taking one last look to see if Sky was paying attention. Not only was he not paying attention, but Sonata was giggling. What could he have possibly said that made her giggle? He’s never made me giggle. I couldn’t help but to think these thought while changing. Then it hit me: Why do I care? Sky is just some guy that I met in my darkest hour. He was nice to me when no one else was and actually cared for me. Sky is my first real friend. If he’s just a friend, why should I care if he’s making another girl giggle? Not only that, but it’s just giggling. It’s not like they’re making out or something. I really hope they’re not making out. This was going to be my last walk for the night. I didn’t try the trick this time because I thought it might make me more upset. Luckily, the boys either left or were thrown out, so I didn’t really need to do it. My goal was to make these poses the best of the night. I don’t remember exactly what I did, but everyone in the audience loved it. I even got a standing ovation. I should be happy, but the thing with Sky and Sonata really threw me off. When I got back to the changing room, Coco and Rarity ran up and gave me a hug. “You were extraordinary, darling,” Rarity said while hugging me. “Thanks,” I sad letting go. “The real praise goes to Coco. She’s the one that did all the work and made me look like this.” “It was nothing,” Coco said with a blush. “Both of you need to stop selling yourself short,” Rarity said. “Coco, you are extremely talented. Sunset, you are gem, darling.” If I’m gem then why don’t I feel like one? The rest of the girls came in one by one and celebrated with their designers. The models and their designers took a final walk. Afterwards, I was invited to a small after-party. “Sunset!” Fleur said as she approached me. “You were fantastic. I wanted you to meet my sister, Cadence. Cadence this is Sunset Shimmer.” I recognized Cadence from, well everything around school. She was the Spring Fling and Fall Formal Princess all four years she attended Canterlot High, captain of the tennis and debate teams, and class president her junior and senior year. The old me probably would have used her if she didn’t graduate the year before my freshman year started. “So, you’re the star of the show,” Cadence said. “Cadence works at a modeling agency as a ‘head hunter’.” Fleur explained. “It’s my job to connect designers and photographers with models. Recently, I’ve been tasked with finding a model for the fabulous Prim Hemline. I think you have exactly what she is looking for.” I would have been shocked over this offer. Out of every girl in the show, Cadence wants me to be a model for one of the best fashion designers in the world. I would be, but I was a little distracted. The door was a few feet from Cadence and Sky and Sonata just so happened to walk by the window. I excused myself from the conversation, saying that I needed some time to think about her offer. I practically bursted out of the room and tried to follow them. They moved faster than I thought because they weren’t in the halls. There wasn’t a real reason why I was running. Maybe I was afraid of what the Dazzlings were going to do with Sky. Maybe I just didn’t want him to leave without me. Whatever the reason, I was running to stop them from whatever they were doing. “Look who we have here,” Adagio said as I reached the door leading to the parking lot. She was standing next to Aria, both having an evil grin as she stood blocking the exit. “Out of my way,” I said trying to push past her. “You’re not going anywhere,” Aria said. “We can’t let you stop this.” “What are you talking about? What is this?” “You see,” Adagio started to explain, “our dear sister has had her eyes set on someone for some time now.” “And because we’re such good sisters,” Aria picked up, “we decided to help her with her little crush.” “I swear if you do anything to Sky, I’ll-” “You’ll what, Sunset?” Adagio asked. “You’ll spread rumors about us? We wouldn’t want that now would we?” “I guess it will destroy our reputation. But wouldn’t that also mean everything people have said about you was right.” The grin on Aria’s face grew bigger as she locked eyes with me. “W-what have people been saying about me?” I asked fearing the answer. “Oh nothing,” Adagio said. “They’ve just been saying there was no way you can keep up this charade.” “People think you’re too far gone,” Arai said. “They say that your true self will show and you’ll be right back to your old tricks.” “I’ve changed!” I shouted. “I’m in a much better place!” “Is that why you immediately blamed Sky when you found those pictures on Facebook?” Adagio asked. “Or why you pretend to be friends with that dumb, weird girl and go to that stupid science club?” Aria asked. “Leave Derpy out of this! She hasn’t done anything to you, so you don’t need to talk about her!” “Probably not,” Adagio said as she smiled at Aria. “I think we’ve stalled her enough. I hope you enjoyed our talk, Sunset. It was certainly worth it.” Both of the girls laughed and walked through the doors they were guarding. I ran out the second I got the chance and tried to look for Sky’s car in the parking lot. Adagio and Aria were distracting me while Sonata and Sky drove off. I didn’t know what to do. What could I do? Sky was off with another girl, I’m pretty sure I just blew whatever chance I had at making friends by running out of that room. What if Adagio and Aria were right? What if I’m just looking for an excuse to go back to the way I was? What would have happened if Sky wasn’t there and I didn’t try to jump? I probably would have gone right back to the old me. Without any other options I started to walk home. I didn’t live too far away and I did take off my heals at the party so things weren’t that bad. Unfortunately it started to rain about ten feet from the school. The one time I don’t wear my jacket is the one time actually need it. As I tried my best to stay dry when a car pulled up to me and rolled down the window. “Do you need a ride?” Principal Celestia said from inside the car. “I don’t want to waste your gas or get your car wet.” “It’s no problem,” she said opening the door. I heisted a bit, but I decided to get in. “Just take a left at the fourth light. My house is the last one on the right.” “Is something wrong?” She asked me as she started to drive. “Why would you think there’s something wrong?” I asked. “I’ve been working with high school students for a long time, Sunset. I think I can tell when something’s wrong with one of my students. It’s okay to tell me whatever you want. I told you, you can always talk to me.” “It’s just…well…” I tried to figure out what I was going to say to her. I don’t even understand what’s going on. How could I possibly begin to explain it? “Okay, I’ve been hanging out with this guy-” “Sky Light,” Principal Celestia said. “He’s an outstanding student and seems like a good friend.” “He is and we’re really good friends. Anyway, I think he was flirting with this girl at the show tonight and I don’t think she’s right for him.” “Is there something wrong with her?” “She’s conniving and manipulative. She bends to the will of her sister and none of them care who they hurt to get what they want. And I don’t mean to be mean, but she’s a little dumb.” “Are you sure that’s why you’re upset?” “What do you mean?” “Maybe it’s not who he’s with, but the fact that he’s with someone at all.” “Are you saying I want to be with him?” I shouted. “I don’t like him like that! We’re just friends!” “Relax,” she said after a small laugh. “I didn’t mean it like that. All I meant is that maybe you’re afraid that he will stop giving you attention and stop hanging out with you. From what I’ve seen around school, he means a lot to you and you don’t want to lose him.” “You’re right. I have no idea what I would do if Sky said he didn’t want to be around me anymore.” “I wouldn’t worry about that. I think if he had to pick between you and another girl, he would choose you every time.” “Thanks Principal Celestia.” “Absolutely no problem,” she said as she pulled up to my house. “Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?” “Well there’s this one thing…but it’s stupid.” “Are you sure? I promise you, anything said in this car stays in this car.” “I’m sure,” I said opening the door and getting out of the car. “Have a good weekend.” “You too,” she said with a smile. I closed the car door and ran to my front door. I immediately ran to my room and changed into my favorite pajamas. I love rainy days because I usually make myself a cup of hot chocolate and re-read some A.K Yearling book. Of course, I made myself a cup of hot chocolate and picked a random book from my shelf, this time it was Daring Do and the Staff of Sun Wukong. I was at the part where Daring tries to solve the riddle of the 72 transformations when Sky’s car pulled into his driveway. I spied on him from my window, but I was really trying to see if Sonata was still with him. Luckily, Sky was alone. Part of me wanted to go down there and figure out what happened. I wanted to know what he did with Sonata and how he really feels about her. I wanted to, but I didn’t. If I really wanted this friendship to continue, I have to let Sky be his own person and not be like a clingy girlfriend.